Nowadays, you really can’t have a good Halloween, without a good pumpkin.
Actually, let me correct that. You can’t have a good Halloween without a good carved vegetable (swedes being a popular choice up north).
Whatever your choice of vegetable, the choice of design when carving it is the really important part. The lanterns are meant for protection and to to welcome the spirits of loved ones, but it’s important to do so with style.
I like to think of my styles of quite conventional, traditional perhaps. A simple face, sometimes a bit scary, sometimes a bit spooky.
And my vegetable of choice, pumpkin, so that I can make Terrified T’s creamy pumpkin soup!
But other people, with better carving skills, and maybe a little more time of their hands, go all out to create amazing works of art. I’m sure that you’ve seen plenty on the web.
And below, you can see a few that have graced our household over the years.
I tried to find a picture of a cool white squash that we got one year and carved out to look like a ghost – but I couldn’t find it.
Anyway. To aid all you budding carvers, here’s a bunch of stencils to download, print out and use as a guide to create some seriously cool lanterns. Let us know if you make one that you’re particularly proud of!